Last year Dylan came out on top after 3 conundrums. Maybe this year is your year. Or maybe you'd just like to get quite pissed whilst playing some Countdown in a pub.

Here are the facts:

Date: 20th August 2016
Time: Doors open at 10:15, Draw happens at 11:00, Round 1 starts at 11:15 - last year I think we ran til about 7. Maybe we'll get slicker this year (don't bank on it)
Venue: Upstairs of The New Queen Victoria pub, Wolverton, Milton Keynes, MK12 5JN
Price: £16 (Sorry for the £1 up, but the venue lifted their prices)

The tournament will run as it did last year - the letters will be done Bristol style with picks rotating around the room. The numbers will be done in such a way that everybody can have their preferred numbers pick at one point during a game. This may be done by just improving how we did it last year, or we may have something completely different - test are in place!

The format will also be the same. 8 qualifying 9-rounders, 3 before lunch, 3 after, and 2 after a quick break, before a final to decide who will be the 2nd name on the Concrete Cow Cup. (I know it's a shield, and it doesn't say that on it, but I wish I'd thought of it last year). The 3 games before lunch will be done from a seeded draw based on the results of last years .co.mk - players will be assigned to pot A-D and one from each pot will be drawn to play against one another in a 4-person round robin. This does mean that those who didn't turn up last year will be put into pot D, sorry about that, but I don't believe in seeding based on other events.

The venue itself is in Wolverton which is the next train station on from Milton Keynes if you're coming from London on a London Midland service, or the one before coming from Birmingham. It's around a 5-10 minute drive from the centre of MK and it's also well linked from MK train station via bus. It is up some stairs, which might seem an odd choice from me, but it was preferable to having to hike the entry fee right up. If you're driving, the best place to park in the area was I think decided to be the Tesco car park last year.

Options for food are abundant in the area, including the venue itself, who last year left menus scattered around from their cafe downstairs and were more than happy to bring food up on our lunch break. If you'd rather go somewhere else though, there are food outlets and supermarkets dotted around, including the aforementioned Tesco.

With regard to accommodation, I would advise perhaps using the Travelodge in the centre of Milton Keynes. It's right on the doorstep of MK train station, not too expensive, and if Friday night stayers were organised, you could probably split a cab to the venue for a quid or 2 each should you not wish to take the bus. There are many other hotels available in the area though with a range of prices, and I'm sure people who stayed in those (JR, Mark M etc.) would be happy to run you through their experiences.

I'm set up to take payments myself this year using the marvellously fast paypal.me. When you wish to make a payment, go to paypal.me/ZSiempre/16 and then all you have to do is click go. No need to enter details, it's all done for you.

One final note, I think last year was just about on the limit of what that venue can handle. So I will be formally limiting this year's event to 52 places. Let's try and fill them

There is actually right now, as things stand, a chance that I won't be in the country on this date. I would be annoyed to miss this as it was really good last year, but I'm not 100% what I'm going to be doing at the moment.

Gavin Chipper wrote:There is actually right now, as things stand, a chance that I won't be in the country on this date. I would be annoyed to miss this as it was really good last year, but I'm not 100% what I'm going to be doing at the moment.

Gavin Chipper wrote:There is actually right now, as things stand, a chance that I won't be in the country on this date. I would be annoyed to miss this as it was really good last year, but I'm not 100% what I'm going to be doing at the moment.

This is unacceptable.

I agree. And if I don't go, I won't get one of your puns based on my name, so that is an incentive.

Gavin Chipper wrote:There is actually right now, as things stand, a chance that I won't be in the country on this date. I would be annoyed to miss this as it was really good last year, but I'm not 100% what I'm going to be doing at the moment.

This is unacceptable.

I agree. And if I don't go, I won't get one of your puns based on my name, so that is an incentive.

Gavin Chipper wrote:I'm sorry to say not me. I'm definitely going to be in America now while this CO-event is taking place. I do actually feel a bit upset about missing this, as it was such a great success last year.

Gavin Chipper wrote:I'm sorry to say not me. I'm definitely going to be in America now while this CO-event is taking place. I do actually feel a bit upset about missing this, as it was such a great success last year.

For anyone considering going to MK who needs to book travel details from London, I have a possible solution to your qualms.

Due to me changing my travelling plans, I now have train tickets I don't need on the day of .co.mk. As these are non-refundable, I am offering them to anyone (providing they have a 16-25 railcard) who wants them for £7.95. The train details are...

Just think how happy the 53rd person to sign up will be when they realise they can go after all Never let it be said I don't do my bit for the countdown community
On the subject of my reasoning for not going - if it's a newbie who now goes in my place, it could be a 'baptism' of fire